“That was very lucky. I almost didn’t notice.”

“Notice? No- notice what? Where am I? Who are you? What am I doing here?”

“Calm yourself. You have been retired. You were threatening to disrupt the test. So you have been retired, your world has been flushed. You may, however, leave behind a journal. You will find one on the desk.”

“So, what do I write? And how do you flush a world?”

“It’s actually rather simple. I design a new reality, altering the immediate threats to the current test. Then I reject your reality and substitute my own. The initial reality is flushed, and the new one takes priority. There is even a new version of yourself running around in there. But he is not you. He is almost you, but he will not ask the question. It’s almost a shame, really. As for what you write, that is entirely your decision.”

“But what if what I write is stupid?”

“I wouldn’t worry. Where that journal is going, they’re going to criticise it either way.”